Sunday, August 28, 2011

A Special Grilled Cheese & Tomato Sandwich

Lately, I have been blessed with so much fresh, homegrown produce. Our neighbor has gifted us with the most beautiful and delicious tomatoes I have ever seen or eaten. One of my co-workers brings in vegetables from her garden to share. And another co-worker brings baskets of fruits and vegetables from the Farmers' Market. (Today I will be making a peach pie from some of that gifted fruit).

The main benefit, of course, to my working fulltime is the extra income. I can now, once again, do a little splurging at the grocery store. My first joyful splurge was in the cheese department. I love cheese! For too long, I had been mostly limiting myself to the store brand cheeses and Parmesan in the green can. How delighted I was to purchase a wedge of Parmesano Reggiano and also the Tillamook cheddar cheese, which I used to make this sandwich. That really is a delicious cheese.

I have mentioned two things that made this sandwich special--the homegrown tomato and the Tillamook cheese. The third thing was the hearty oat bread I purchased at a local bakery. Lovely. And lastly, the fact that I smeared the outside of the bread with Ghee (another of my splurges) before grilling.

Grilled Cheese and Tomato Sandwich

2 slices of sturdy bread

A few slices of Tillamook cheddar cheese

Slices of fresh tomato

Salt and pepper

Ghee or butter

Slice the tomato and place the slices on paper towels for about 30 minutes to absorb the excess liquid. Salt and pepper the slices to taste. Place layers of cheese on a slice of the bread. Top with tomato slices, then more cheddar. Top with the other slice of bread. Spread some ghee on the outside of the bread, then place ghee side down in an iron skillet with has been preheated. Before turning the sandwich, spread the other slice of bread with ghee or butter.﻿